


And a Happy New Year

by redroses100



Category: Durarara!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Christmas, Comfort, Established Relationship, Fluff, Found Family, M/M, Multi, New Years, cute shit, drrr secret santa 2019, happy holidays!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:14:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22133875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redroses100/pseuds/redroses100
Summary: Akabayashi does a lot of ridiculous things. He gets even worse during the holidays, much to his partner's frustration. But Shiki had no idea how far the man would go in the name of "holiday spirit".Is murdering your significant other an acceptable New Years resolution? At the very least, kicking out the stray that Akabayashi brings home will be. He is very resolute about that. Very.xxx Gift submission for the DRRR Secret Santa 2019 exchange on tumblr! xx
Relationships: Akabayashi Mizuki/Orihara Izaya, Akabayashi Mizuki/Orihara Izaya/Shiki Haruya, Akabayashi Mizuki/Shiki Haruya, Orihara Izaya/Shiki Haruya
Comments: 2
Kudos: 58





	And a Happy New Year

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Holidays, however you choose to celebrate!!

“Don’t be mad.” Shiki hates it when his conversations with Akabayashi start like this.

“What did you do?” He sighs, ignoring the way Kazamoto snickers in the corner of his eye. Instead he turns in his chair to put the gremlin out of his line of sight entirely.

Akabayashi hesitates on his side of the phone line. There are some shuffling noises that Shiki is sure he should be worried about. And maybe some muffled speech, but it sounds very far away, if it is there.

“I sort of…brought something home!” Akabayashi finally tells him- telling him nothing.

“Something.” Shiki repeats, narrowing his eyes even though the redhead isn’t there to see. A much larger thump over the line has Shiki pulling his phone from his ear to glare directly at the screen and the picture of said scarred dumbass.

“I gotta go. See you tonight!” And just like that, he’s off the line, and Shiki is left scowling and unfortunately confused. He doesn’t like being confused, especially in his line of work. But it isn’t exactly a rare occurrence, and Akabayashi seems to do everything in his power to provoke those moments of confusion.

Shiki may smother him to death someday for it.

He’s tempted to call the idiot back. If it wasn’t for the fact that there’s a whimpering, bleeding traitor on the rug in front of him that he was dealing with before the phone call, he would.

Still, he knows the sense of foreboding will follow him through the whole day. And even as he allows Kazamoto to get back to his… _interrogation_ , it weighs on his mind. What has Akabayashi brought into their home? How much of a headache will Shiki have before him once he gets done with work for the day?

He takes a painkiller in expectation and tries to go about his day. He’s even lucky enough to get distracted by his work.

The moment he gets in the car to head home, he remembers. And with a sigh, he pulls out his phone to finally return the call that’s been haunting him since he got it around noon.

“What did you do?” He repeats- for what feels like the thousandth time this month- the moment Akabayashi picks up.

His partner seems to be in a much better mood now. He even hums happily when he hears Shiki’s voice. “Good to hear you’re on your way home! How was work, lovebuns?” He croons. Shiki hangs up without another word. When Akabayashi calls back less than 30 seconds later- still cackling- he hangs up again. Damn him.

Not only did he manage to distract Shiki all damn day, now he has the gall to laugh at him too! If there was ever a night for smothering, it might just be this one.

The house looks warm and lit when Shiki steps out of the car. Akabayashi had insisted on putting up Christmas lights for the holiday. He had prefaced his call with Those dreaded words when telling Shiki about the decorations as well. Something tells Shiki this might be a touch different than Christmas lights.

His driver pulls away while he remains outside his door, honestly debating if he wants to go in. He has another house he can stay at for at least a couple of weeks before he’ll need anything from this dwelling. And if there’s some kind of mess inside, he’d rather not know about it and just give Akabayashi the time to clean it up. Ignorance is bliss, and all.

The front door swings open before he can call his driver back, and he’s being greeted by the most insufferable greeting party. His partner. In a Santa hat.

“What did you do?” He demands of the smiling, grossly festive man.

“Jeez, is that all you know how to say, Haruya?” Akabayashi steps out of the house to take his hand and pull him inside. And, despite the little voice in his head telling him he has better options, Shiki allows it. He doesn’t allow the hug Akabayashi offers once the door closes.

“Explain.” It’s no longer an option. It wasn’t, to begin with. But especially not now.

He’s been sighing throughout the day, so it’s weird to hear it from someone else. His partner sighs like he’s trying to clean his whole body out of air, and rubs the back of his head. “Okay, look. I was out doing things for the company, and I happened upon a stray.” Oh no. Oh fuck.

“Mizuki,” he says in warning.

“It was a situation that I couldn’t ignore! I know you don’t like bringing things you don’t know into your home-”

“No one likes doing that, you are the only one who does.” Shiki growls.

“But it’s almost Christmas! And well, this is half my house! I have my name on it same as you.” Unfortunately, he’s right. Shiki pinches the bridge of his nose. “Will you just…meet him?” Akabayashi is almost pleading with him.

“Him? Next you’ll tell me you already named it!” Shiki shudders at the thought. But…Akabayashi looks…amused all of the sudden.

And then, from across the room- where Shiki hasn’t even glanced into the depths of their home- someone else answers. “It already had a name, thank you.”

Akabayashi’s small amusement blooms into a full-on smirk. Shiki clenches his jaw and turns to size up the invader in his personal space. But whatever he’s expecting- not that he’s sure what to expect when it comes to Akabayashi bringing stray people home- it isn’t what he sees.

There’s a boy tied up at his dining table. He’s maybe nineteen, with black, choppy hair and amber eyes that flicker with uncontained anger. Shiki’s guessing the anger comes from the being-tied-up bit. And, having experienced Akabayashi’s work, he can almost sympathize. Almost. Then again, it could also be from the sloppy elf hat laying slanted on his head. And that Shiki can sympathize with as well. Almost.

“Why?” He whips his head back towards the one responsible with a hard glare.

“He was living on the streets.”

“Well he was clearly alive, so what was the problem?” Shiki sneers. He can’t stand the sight of his significant other at the moment. He looks back to the young stranger. Well, maybe ‘alive’ was a strong word for it. He does look like he’s in need of some help. ‘Help’ has never been Shiki’s forte.

“He was injured.” And a hospital would only be so much help for someone on the streets. Shiki is sure that’s the missing logic between Akabayashi’s words and his actions. “I wouldn’t normally care! It’s just…it’s Christmas!”

“And what the fuck does that matter?” He demands instantly. Akabayashi narrows his good eye at him.

“Look, I’m not planning to keep him.”

“I should fucking hope not.” Shiki mutters under his breath. The boy is meeting his eye like it’s no problem in the world. Like he’s not breathing the air of two yakuza executives, who could and have killed boys like him for less than invading their space. But, Shiki supposes he must feel pretty safe. After all, he’s got Akabayashi on his side. Or at least mostly on his side. “And why is he cuffed?”

“Oh, cuz he’s a little shit.” Shiki quirks an eyebrow and glances at the man to his side. “That’s all. I had a gag earlier, but he keeps getting around it.”

Great. Just the kind of houseguest he loves having. “How long will your Christmas spirit last?”

“Just until he’s healed.” His eyebrows are instantly raised. Akabayashi beckons him forward, and again Shiki finds himself moving even knowing it will be a bad idea.

He’s led across the room to where the boy is restrained. The other man doesn’t even hesitate in hiking up the bound boy’s shirt to expose his stomach. It’s almost completely covered in bandages, but two big red stains stand out especially.

“Stab wounds. They’re not too deep though. He said they came from a pen.” Akabayashi lets the shirt fall, then settles his hand in the boy’s mess of hair. It knocks the hat that his partner must have delicately placed there down to the boy’s lap. And to Shiki’s surprise, the kid doesn’t shake him away. Or even try to. After just being warned about the shittiness of their visitor, Shiki was expecting rudeness. Or at least his own reaction to such things- which is to pull away.

The boy just sits there. Sulking under Akabayashi’s hand.

“Look, I know this a lot to ask.” Shiki meets the other man’s gaze with a carefully blank face. “But you don’t have to get involved at all. I’ll make sure he stays alive and in line while he’s here. I promise.” There’s something hopeful in Akabayashi’s good eye. Shiki pulls him away from the boy to keep their words at least a little more discreet.

“What really made you do this? And don’t say ‘tis the season’.” Akabayashi grins anyway. “Why him?” Shiki is more than familiar with his partner’s fondness for kids and innocence and whatever. Something rooted to his past- which he’s only told Shiki within the last couple of months of their multi-year relationship. But he can’t accept this situation until he has a little bit more context. And his partner thankfully seems to grasp that at this point.

“I don’t know exactly. Something tells me it’s because he looks like you.” The small, fond smile on Akabayashi’s face is paired with a gentle squeeze to Shiki’s wrist. It’s a combination that he’s easily weak to, but he’s never told the other man that. He just blinks and squeezes back for a moment.

“Your responsibility, Mizuki. You know what that means.” He huffs, and walks away towards their room. He refused to be in his suit a moment longer. His watch tells him it’s only a couple hours until midnight, and he’s been in the restricting ensemble all day.

“Oh, I do.” He’s surprised that Akabayashi follows him. He’s not surprised by the flurry of clothes that come off the second their bedroom door closes behind them. But he is in a much better mood by the time the door opens again.

The boy looks up at the sound, and locks eyes with Shiki instantly. He looks upset still, but resigned as he slumps in the chair he’s bound to. The elf hat has fallen to the floor now, looking about as sad and rumpled as the boy. Shiki sighs and glances back at the snoring man on the bed he just left. He should just wake Akabayashi up to deal with this. It’s his responsibility, he’s made that clear.

The boy seems to know what he’s thinking. His amber eyes linger on Shiki for a moment, then dejectedly look back down. He slides further in his chair a couple inches, trying to adjust for comfort. How long has he been sitting there?

“Have you eaten?” He asks, despite himself. Again, the boy meets his gaze. He shakes his head. Hospitality was probably not high on the list when Akabayashi was dealing with the kid initially. Keeping him alive and contained seemed to be the primary objectives. And where was Akabayashi thinking he would sleep anyway? That chair? Tied up?

It’s a damn good thing the country had never let them adopt a child.

Well, Shiki was planning to make food anyway. With a grumble, he doubles his normal evening stir-fry recipe. He can feel the boy watching him the entire time. Those sharp eyes are on him even after he brings their food to the table.

The second Shiki uncuffs the boy, he’s trying to dart away. A firm grasp on his shoulder brings his guest crashing back against the chair, and whimpering from the force against his wounds too. Shiki tsks.

“A little shit, indeed.” He mutters, cuffing one hand back to the arm of the chair. The boy tugs at it, testing the strength of the furniture and restraint. But he’s at least smart enough to know immediately that he won’t be going anywhere. He sags in his seat again. “Done?”

“Fuck you.” The boy hisses softly. Shiki rolls his eyes and places a plate in front of him.

But the problem becomes that Shiki likes eating his meals at the table. It’s why he owns it. Akabayashi prefers taking his while watching TV on the couch. So Shiki doesn’t often have to share his meal space with another person. Especially one he doesn’t know or trust.

But hell, it’s still his table.

He sits to start his dinner and read through important documents on his phone. Except, he can’t really do that last one with a stranger staring into his soul. And the young man is back to his insidious staring, so he supposes he’ll be having a quiet dinner. A quiet, hopefully quick meal before he can get some work done in his study and then go to bed.

“You’re yakuza.” Right. He should’ve known better.

Shiki eyes the boy balefully as he eats. “Am I?”

He nods. “The other guy too.” Well, don’t they have a bright little street urchin on their hands. “What family are you-”

“The thing about the yakuza…is that they have a tendency to kill the people who find out that they’re in the yakuza.” He hopes this will be enough to discourage the boy. But one glance at the raven assures him there will be no dissuading.

“Who would I tell?” He chuffs.

“Does it matter?” Shiki returns. He could tell every reporter in the city, or his best friend. Either way, it would still be a breach.

“Does the yakuza know you guys fuck?” Shiki’s chopsticks hesitate halfway to his mouth for but a moment before he takes the bite. He’s not worried. Kazamoto at least suspects, and finds it hilarious. Aozaki definitely knows, and all of his objections come from the simple fact that it’s Akabayashi he’s seeing. And Dougen told him a long time ago that he didn’t care. As long as it didn’t impede the family, it wouldn’t be a problem who Shiki chose to bed.

Hmm. Shiki hadn’t ever really thought about it before, but all of the executives of the family were very supportive people. It was interesting how organized crime tended to end up that way.

Clearly, the boy misinterprets his moment of contemplation. Based on the grin that splits his face, he’s probably thinking that Shiki is nervous as hell about it.

“I could forget about it. If you let me go.”

Few things intrigue Shiki anymore. After all the things he’s seen and done in the Awakusu-kai, as well as the long life he had even before joining the family. But he could admit to the smallest amount of interest at the moment. “Where would you go?”

“The hospital.” The boy shrugs. Liar.

“Someone who’s willing to go to a hospital usually doesn’t end up in your situation.” He deadpans. “So where would you go?”

The boy is silent for a moment. He looks frustrated, but like he’s trying to hide just how frustrated he is. “My friend’s a doctor, okay? I’ve crashed on his couch before, he should let me in.” There’s a little waver towards the end of his statement that makes Shiki less inclined to believe him.

“If you’ve crashed there before, you’ve probably worn out your welcome.” Ah, a full-bodied flinch. That’s pretty much what he was looking for. “That’s what I thought.”

“Fuck you!” There’s conviction behind this one. And maybe surprise too. This kid- as rough as he’s probably had it in his life- is clearly not used to honesty. It riles him up pretty fast. Which isn’t good for that confident mask he’s trying to maintain.

Shiki has seen kids like him before. He’s not special. But if Shiki told him that, he’s sure the boy’s ego would positively implode.

“Be careful with that wild tongue of yours.” Shiki warns, with no particular interest in actually giving advice. “You’ll get yourself in trouble.” A little mirth creeps in. Because, well, how much more in-trouble could a kid be?

He knows it too. His head dips in either shame or frustration. Maybe both.

“Listen, you find yourself in a very unusual position. Someone who normally takes great pleasure in ending lived has decided to spare yours. Not only that, but has taken it upon himself to preserve your life. The least you can do is not be a little shit to the thing invested in your welfare.”

But, now that he was thinking about it, hadn’t he seen the boy doing just that? Tolerating not only the elf hat that Akabayashi had obviously placed on him, but also the fond hand in his hair. He was a bright boy, after all. But then why was he dumb enough to try to threaten Shiki like this?

Unless he was only ever interested in sizing him up.

Whether or not that’s the case, the boy’s face remains still and unreadable for several minutes as Shiki continues eating his dinner. And he has other things he needs to do than talk to his unfortunate guest. He won’t be holding up his meal, as well as his whole schedule, just for this brat.

Just before he finishes his food, he thinks he sees the boy trying to speak. But he never says anything, and Shiki’s meal is done soon after, so that’s that. He takes his plate and leaves the untouched one for the boy to sulk over for the night.

He has better things to do.

Shiki doesn’t think about the boy at work the next day. He tells himself that he won’t before he goes in, and so, he doesn’t. That doesn’t stop Akabayashi from sending him updates, pictures, and incessant amounts of emoji’s throughout the day, though.

Eventually he blocks his partner’s number, and sets a reminder for the end of his day to unblock it. Huh. It’s been a while since he’s had to use that particular maneuver.

“Trouble in paradise?” Aozaki’s sickeningly hopeful question comes promptly on the tail of blatantly watching Shiki block Akabayashi’s contact.

“You seem to misunderstand how reality works.” Shiki drawls sharply. An email pings on his laptop, but when he sees that it’s from his partner- already figuring him out- he ignores it.

Luckily, he doesn’t have too much going on today. He should even be able to go home early if he chooses to. But Akabayashi doesn’t know that. He shouldn’t be bothering him as much as he is. For all the redhead knows, he’s in life-or-death situations that lack of focus could ruin.

“I can kill him for you, if you want.” Another optimistic offer.

“And what makes you think I would ask you to do something I’ve been planning out in detail for years?” He shuts down the other executive harshly, but Aozaki’s ruthless grin only gets a little sharper.

“Yeah, alright.” He turns back to his work- probably fantasizing about Akabayashi’s dead body. Shiki would like to follow suit, but instead ends up sighing and dismissing a second email that comes in hot on the heels of the first.

The temptation of murder only rises throughout his day. When he decides to leave around 3pm, he’s so annoyed by his partner that he immediately has his driver take him to one of his backup homes. The one that Akabayashi hates, to be exact.

Only once he’s gotten there, changed into something more comfortable, and had a small cup of whiskey does he look over his spam mail from The Awful One.

It’s all inane babble, of course. Little details of the day of a man with too much time on his hands. Interspersed in the bullshit is the occasional nugget of wisdom- which is Akabayashi’s usual M.O.

He rambles on and on- adding only a couple of pertinent details. He says it’s to check if people are paying attention. Shiki knows it’s Akabayashi’s form of subtle sadism. Normally Shiki doesn’t allow or engage in it. Bad behavior shouldn’t be rewarded, after all. He refuses to accept information from his partner unless it can be summarized on one piece of paper. One double-spaced and single-sided piece of paper. Otherwise he just ignores the whole thing and maintains that it’s Akabayashi’s fault for not communicating properly.

But the further he scrolls through the endless messages, the more he finds himself actually reading each one. At the end of the stream of consciousness- which he cut off only a few hours into his day- he’s exhausted from all the useless information he now has about the stranger staying in his home.

Or, he supposes he has a name. It’s Izaya, according to Akabayashi. Shiki spends a minute checking the origin of his name, but only finds a few Bible references, so he stops.

He already has an abundance of fun facts about Izaya, as well. Like how he’s apparently “eternally 21” and likes otoro. The latter fact was accompanied by a picture of Akabayashi feeding a piece of sushi to his prisoner. The boy looks like the most annoyed of cats, being forced to endure embarrassment for his supper.

But it’s somewhat of a relief to know that Akabayashi has at least gotten him to eat. When Shiki left the house that morning, the stir-fry from last night was still untouched.

As he’s looking at the picture, his newly un-blocked partner messages him again.

Shiki almost cracks his screen, his grip gets so tight on his phone. He’s never felt raw frustration like he does looking at the ridiculously angled photo he’s just received. It’s clear Akabayashi was using the front facing camera on his phone- which he was holding far above his head- to capture the blurry picture. But Izaya was evidently as unhappy in the moment as Shiki is now, which led to most of the blurriness.

It’s still clear enough to tell for sure that it’s Izaya stuck on Akabayashi’s lap, pinned there by the arm thrown around his waist. And all his dumbass partner has to say about the whole cursed image is, “Do you think he counts as naughty or nice?”

Shiki is instantly calling him.

“I knew that would get you to pick up.” Akabayashi says smugly the second he answers. Shiki thinks about all the delightful ways he could add to his lover’s collection of scars for a moment to make himself calm down. “Are you going to come home sometime this week? I know you got off work ages ago.”

More like an hour ago, but Akabayashi has a deep love for dramatics. “I don’t know, will you take the teenager off your lap if I do?” But then, he’s not the only one.

“He’s not a teenager, he’s forever 21!” Is his lovers reply. “Although, I have my suspicions that he might be lying.” He adds in a ridiculous stage whisper. His captive mutters indignantly, close enough that Shiki can hear it through the phone connection. Which means Izaya is still on Akabayashi’s lap. “Are you jealous, Haruya?” Akabayashi croons, like he’s so clever.

“More like pitying.” Shiki denies with a scoff.

“Oof, that’s good for the ol’ self-confidence.” His partner bemoans. Shiki wishes for once that Akabayashi wasn’t joking around, and that he’d actually managed to distress the redhead. But of course, Akabayashi doesn’t take it seriously enough for that. “Anyway, to answer your question, yes I will eventually let Izaya off my lap. I have a meeting with Kazamoto in just a bit to get to.”

Shiki feels a sudden spike of panic. “And how do you expect to manage a meeting and a captive at the same time?” he demands suspiciously.

Akabayashi laughs, in that way that Shiki absolutely cannot stand. The scheming laugh.

“Oh simple! I’m gonna leave ‘Zaya here to fend for himself, alone in your home. And knowing that, I’ll count on you coming to keep an eye on him while I’m out taking care of business.” The cheerful tone of voice is similar to when Akabayashi explains his plans in the office. And, as usual, Shiki has been involved in his plan without so much as permission.

And, as usual, before he can even find the words to tell his partner how unwilling he is to be involved, he’s cut off. “So now that you’re filled in, I guess I’ll get going! Don’t want to keep a coworker waiting, and all. I’ll see you tonight!”

The phone call ends, but the frustration lingers. Frustration and bloodlust. Neither feeling will make an evening of babysitting easy. Especially with a charge like the one he met the night before.

He’s been saddled with the most miserable of street urchins. The kind that cuddles the hand that feeds him, and threatens the one that has no interest in his existence. Making him at the same time very smart, and very stupid. And well, Shiki deals with that kind of shit for his living. He doesn’t want to deal with it now.

Not to mention, the best way to prove a point to Akabayashi would be to stay where he is for the night. Sure, he might have some anxiety about what’s going on in his home. But there can’t be anything 100% irreplaceable in that home. And any sensitive information is guarded behind three locked doors in his office.

But damn it all, he just doesn’t trust that street rat to be in his private space, totally unsupervised!

Cursing under his breath, Shiki calls his driver back to pick him up, and makes his way across the city to the home he foolishly shares with the worst of roommates. He’ll need to see about changing the paperwork for the house. Maybe check if he couldn’t remedy his own bad judgement.

He’s expecting the worst inside. Broken furniture, maybe a fire. Shiki opens the door to find Izaya spread out on his couch, with some children’s show on his TV. But nothing is out of place. The strange boy even looks surprised to see him. Like he didn’t think Shiki would be dumb enough to fall for Akabayashi’s goading. Maybe he is.

But dumb or not, Shiki is home now. He locks the door behind him, and goes to his room to undress for the second time that evening. Because, well, his clothes here are much more comfortable than the ones at any of his safe houses.

When he walks back into the front room, Izaya has straightened up a little- enough to clear one half of the couch. He’s still reclined though, probably to take pressure off his stomach wounds. And also because he can only take his ankle so far from where Akabayashi left it cuffed to their coffee table.

Shiki almost asks him if he needs anything. Like he would ask Akabayashi, if he wandered through the front room and the redhead was in the same place.

Instead he takes his laptop to the table and sits where he can keep an eye on the stranger on the other side of the room. He also makes sure there’s no reflection or glare that could carry the information in his files to the boy who hasn’t even glanced at him since he came out of his room.

After a few minutes, when nothing horrible happens, Shiki relaxes a little. Not a lot. But enough to rid himself of the tension headache that’s been thumping at the back of his brain. He sighs, taking a moment to rub at a tight spot in his neck. Anything to help the ache lessen faster.

“You must be pretty frustrated.” He doesn’t open his eyes at first. He doesn’t even hum to acknowledge Izaya for a solid thirty seconds. When he does, it’s an unimpressed tone.

“Not a good way to start conversation at the moment.”

“To be fair, _is_ there any good way to start conversation with you?” Izaya points out. Insufferable.

“No.” Shiki deadpans. The glower on his face is usually only witnessed by dead men, and the man he’s fucking. Neither of which he wants to think about doing to Izaya, just yet.

“Yikes.” The raven mumbles playfully. His eyes are starting to sparkle. Shiki can already tell it means nothing good. “Okay then, how’s work?”

“You don’t listen very well.” It’s not exactly a warning. But Shiki’s still not used to people brushing him off when he speaks in that tone.

“No, never.” Izaya agrees nonchalantly. “Well, that’s not true, I guess. I listen. But obeying isn’t my strong suit.” Shiki has been more shocked by a particularly staticky patch of carpet.

“We’ll have to see about that.” He mutter disdainfully- and without thinking.

Izaya thinks fast enough for both of them. That twinkle in his eye only brightens. “Careful, your husband might think you want to keep me if you talk like that.”

He’s not sure what he finds more disturbing. The idea of keeping the stray, or the idea of Akabayashi being his legally bound partner. Shiki hasn’t felt like shuddering in quite some time. It’s not a good sign that this little shit is provoking reactions he hasn’t had in decades.

“He knows better.”

“Mmm. Something tells me he probably doesn’t.” Izaya wags his foot a little, jingling the handcuff on his ankle against the table. And is that- Akabayashi definitely tied a bell to the boy’s foot too. Shiki makes the mistake of grimacing at the sound. So naturally, Izaya continues flicking his foot side to side, disrupting the bell and Shiki’s peace in the same motion. “So, anti-child policy for the happy couple, then?”

He feels like he’s staring at the very reason for his lack of interest in children.

“Not that it’s any of your business.” Shiki sighs.

“I’m nosy.” Izaya admits easily, with a shrug to show just how seriously he takes that as a flaw. “But I think I’m entitled to be curious about my abductor and captor.”

“You’re certainly entitled, I’ll give you that.” Shiki drawls. Izaya puffs up his cheeks indignantly. It’s definitely, very much so, not cute. “And cunning.”

Like a switch being flipped, the young man is suddenly smiling at him. It’s a toothy smile that’s as genuine as his dramatic pout a moment ago. That is to say, it’s about as fake as some of the art pieces Shiki has sold to an unsuspecting mark.

“Aww, I’m flattered! Are you sure you don’t like me?” Izaya crows- probably trying to get under his skin.

Honestly, Shiki may not like the stranger in his home, but not for the reasons Izaya probably thinks. More than any judgements on his character, Shiki is mostly annoyed that he was forced into the situation by a very inconsiderate lover. He’s irritated to have responsibility he doesn’t need, when he’s already drowning in it at work. And so far, his interactions with Izaya have been frustrating and a waste of time. But also, predominantly…interesting. He hasn’t felt this intrigued by a person in a while.

Not that it matters. Interest or no, he’s a stranger and he doesn’t belong in Shiki’s home. He’ll be glad to be rid of the young raven, as soon as possible. But he’s not even a fraction as annoyed by the young man as he is by Akabayashi.

So in the end, Shiki has no reply for Izaya. But he rolls his eyes in a show of derision as an answer. The stranger in his midst has no idea that it’s an action he seldom does. It’s another bad sign, that he’s been reduced to childish eye-rolling.

Izaya goes back to smugly watching his kids show, probably feeling like he’s won something. Shiki is old enough to know that having the last word doesn’t automatically mean you’ve won, though. So it doesn’t bother him as much as Izaya surely wishes.

What bothers him far more is when Akabayashi finally arrives home several hours later. He sweeps in with a triumphant cry and is immediately ruffling his captive’s already ruffled hair.

“You’re still alive! I’m so glad!” The redhead fusses, sending a teasing wink towards Shiki.

Shiki, meanwhile, has been resisting the urge to throw a knife Akabayashi’s way since he opened the front door. “You might not be for very long.” He warns his partner, who chuckles nervously before straightening up.

“It was an emergency?” He supposes. Shiki jerks his head towards their bedroom and snaps his laptop shut to accent it. Akabayashi doesn’t really flinch, but he does at least grimace. So there’s a small amount of satisfaction.

His partner follows him into their room, shutting the door behind himself instinctually.

“Before we get to the murdering me bit, can I just say how handsome you’re looking tonigh-”

“No.” Shiki denies before he can even finish. It’s only what he deserves. “What the fuck were you thinking?”

“Hey, he’s been a perfect captive! I knew he wouldn’t fuck with anything!”

“There’s no way to be sure of that. You only met the stranger yesterday. This is my home- which I stupidly share with you. But that doesn’t give you a right to share your insanity inducing schemes with me; especially in a space that I expect to be safe and secure at all times.” Shiki keeps his tone level, despite the subject. Even when particularly angry, he knows the virtue of burning with ice.

“I know, I understand that. I wouldn’t have left him here, or even brought him in to begin with, if I wasn’t confident I could keep your space safe and secure.” Akabayashi swears- in the most serious voice Shiki has heard out of the man all week. It’s a nice start, but it’s what Shiki wishes he could have been dealing with from the beginning. Which only makes him more irritated.

“If you pull a stunt like this again, you’ll come home to changed locks and that boy sitting on the doorstep.” He warns, because he’s tired of being so irritated. And he’s tired of being able to root that irritation back to the man who says he loves him.

“That’s…yeah, that’s fair.” The redhead agrees easily enough. Shiki sighs, but he’s still upset. “I’m sorry to have stressed you out, Haruya.”

“You should be.” Shiki hisses. Then sighs again, feeling much better. “You’re going to be murdered one of these days, and it’ll likely be by Aozaki, but I might just help him.”

“That’s fair too.” Akabayashi chuckles. He unbuttons the suit jacket he’s wearing, wandering towards their walk-in closet as he does. “In the interest of surviving to the new year, I would suggest you take tomorrow off and spend the day in with ‘Zaya and me. Since it’s Christmas Eve, and you could use the day to relax anyway. Kazamoto just said he and Aozaki weren’t planning to go in to the office either.”

“I’m sure you had no hand in their decision.” Shiki deadpans. Akabayashi sends one of his supposedly dashing smiles over his shoulder.

“Everybody needs time to get into the holiday spirit! We’ll make hot chocolate and watch movies! And we can go shopping in the evening for presents.”

“Disgusting.” It’s sighed under his breath, but his partner still hears him. He chuckles again, well used to Shiki’s reluctance to show any type of spirit- holiday related or no. Luckily for their relationship, Akabayashi thinks it’s adorable rather than depressing. Unluckily for Shiki, he also takes it as a challenge and constantly tries to lure a little excitement out of the raven.

“I’ll take that as a yes!” He says excitedly, pulling on the red silk pajama pants Shiki got him for his birthday this year.

If he’s expecting anything nearly as nice for Christmas, he’s going to be very disappointed. He’ll be lucky to get anything but coal from Shiki this year.

Just the idea of actually finding, purchasing, and wrapping the coal- all to make a point- has Shiki smiling to himself. When Akabayashi notices, he stills in the middle of pulling on a shirt to narrow his good eye at his partner. “What? Why are you smiling? It’s not usually good when you smile.” He accuses.

And rather than comfort his lover in any way, Shiki only smiles wider. “Bah humbug.” He mutters ruefully and leaves the room.

Izaya’s face disappears from the top of the couch where he’s been obviously trying to listen to their conversation the moment Shiki emerges. And despite himself- and the fact that he should hate eavesdropping almost as much as he hates surprises- Shiki feels his smile turning just a little more genuine.

Not a good sign at all.

Shiki is an early riser. Even if he doesn’t turn in until late, he still sets his alarm and diligently wakes up at 5:30 each morning. Akabayashi has a more fluid sleeping schedule. Usually he just goes to sleep and wakes up whenever he wants.

Since it’s Christmas morning, ‘whenever he wants’ is obviously before even Shiki considers consciousness to be an option. It’s barely five a.m. when he’s woken by his obnoxious significant other. Even if the wake-up call is less unbearable than usual.

They don’t leave their room until close to six. By then, Izaya is awake and back to watching mindless cartoons, it would appear. Based on the remnants of a blush that Shiki spots when they greet him, he has to assume the young man has been awake at least long enough to hear Shiki’s very first Christmas present of the day.

“Merry Christmas Izaya!” Akabayashi exclaims, swamping the 21-year-old with a hug. Shiki follows it with a demurer pat on the head. Izaya doesn’t flinch from either.

He’s healing up nicely, according to Akabayashi. He was well enough to leave their home the night before, for the shopping trip the redhead among them insisted on. And it was a surprisingly pleasant trip for all three of them. Shiki even managed to see some of the “adorable” sides of the captive his partner insisted on keeping. Not that he’d ever label Izaya that himself.

There was a definitely shift in his home since the boy had shown up. Not just because of the tension it caused. Akabayashi just seemed happier while he had Izaya around. Like a child with a playmate. And Shiki didn’t feel as untrusting of the young man as he did just a couple of days previous. Which was something that normally took months to accomplish.

The insubstantial amount of trust came purely from the fact that Izaya was their prisoner for days at that point, and still hadn’t gone out of his way to ruin a single thing in the home. And there were many things to be ruined, just within his chained-up reach.

Lack of material destruction aside, Izaya had also stopped trying to get under his skin and threaten him. The day before, the only things he’d said to Shiki were observations as they went about their shopping trip. And they weren’t worthless observations. Everything he had to point out or share had meaning and importance. And they were things Shiki himself probably would not have noticed.

The boy had definite promise as an informant, or something similar. It was something he found himself talking about with Akabayashi late into the night. And now, staring at his partner with the young man, Shiki can tell it’s a thought that’s still on Akabayashi’s mind. Just the way he looks at Izaya, it’s clear he wants him to stick around.

To be fair, Shiki isn’t at all sure he doesn’t also want Izaya to stick around. Which he knows amounts to admitting he wants to see more of the young man. Which isn’t good.

“I’ll make breakfast.” He decides, desperate for a distraction from his thoughts.

“Ah, wait! Let’s do presents first, then breakfast!” Akabayashi begs. Shiki glances at Izaya for his opinion, though he hadn’t meant to do so. Izaya only shrugs at him, helplessly trapped in Akabayashi’s holiday hug still.

Shiki sighs and continues on to the kitchen to at least have some coffee before Akabayashi completely ruins the day with his insufferable holiday vibes.

When he returns to the front room, Akabayashi has relocated both himself and Izaya to the ridiculous Christmas tree that his partner set up at the beginning of the month. The redhead has been slowly adding presents under it for weeks. Shiki didn’t get around to adding his two packages until the night before.

Akabayashi is sorting the gifts into piles, chattering away as he does. Shiki doesn’t know how he finds so much to talk about with Izaya without verging into dangerous territory, but the two of them are constantly talking, it seems.

But they both look…happy. Just sitting, talking, and sorting.

Finally Akabayashi has everything cleared from under the tree. He beckons Shiki to his pile- the largest of the three, much to Shiki’s displeasure. And he waits until his lover has actually accepted and come to sit with the two of them before he’s satisfied.

“As our guest, I think Izaya should open his presents first!” Akabayashi exclaims, like it’s a brilliant, unheard of idea. Shiki silently sips his coffee.

Their “guest” only has two things to open. Shiki isn’t sure what Akabayashi got him- or when he got it- but the gift from Shiki himself is hopefully practical enough to be appreciated. Knowing Izaya a bit better than a few days ago, he wouldn’t be surprised if something completely unpractical would be appreciated far more.

The young man opens Shiki’s first. It’s a small box, no wider than Izaya’s palm. But when he pulls the lid off and sees the present inside, his grip turns possessive on the box.

Shiki had debated if he wanted to arm the little runt. But for the sake of not ending up with wounded 21-year-old on his couch again, he finally decided to go ahead and get the expensive- and sharp- flip knife.

Akabayashi whistles, leaning into Izaya’s side to look at the blade. “You sure that’s a good idea Haruya?” He asks, while not looking away.

“As long as he learns to use it right.”

“I know how to use it!” Izaya denies vehemently. Shiki takes another silent sip of coffee. “I do!”

Akabayashi chuckles, dropping the lid back on the box. “Then you can use it to defend yourself against all future pen attacks!” He encourages, and scoots his present front and center of the young man. “Now mine!”

Before he moves on, Izaya glances up and holds Shiki’s gaze- the same way he was able to right off the bat. But this time his eyes are shining just a telltale bit.

“Thank you.” He murmurs. Shiki dips his head.

“Yeah, yeah. Now mine!” Akabayashi repeats impatiently. Izaya doesn’t take more goading though. He carefully puts the knife box to the side and then digs into the redhead’s present.

What he pulls out of the ridiculously papered package is nothing short of a spectacle. So of course, Izaya loves it. The way his eyes light up and he jumps to his feet immediately makes Shiki the tiniest bit jealous, but he’ll never admit it. Instead he watches Izaya show off in his new fur rimmed black jacket, while Akabayashi cheers in the background.

They do seem to have fun with each other.

“Well, you’re armed and armored. Now you’re unstoppable.” Akabayashi grins, petting the fur on the bottom hem of the jacket. Izaya pauses his flaunting to look at the redhead.

“Thank you, Akabayashi-san.” Then Shiki is being pinned under those eyes- that look a little red with the Christmas tree lights illuminating them. “And thank you, Shiki-san.” The sincere gratitude is paired with a gentle smile that looks almost fake on that face. Izaya is far more adept with his mask than his actual feelings, it would seem.

Shiki refuses to think about the similarities between them in that regard.

“Merry Christmas, Izaya.” Shiki replies, and stands to start making breakfast. Akabayashi whines about presents behind him, but Shiki doesn’t even acknowledge the overgrown toddler. He’ll be fine for a few minutes with his playmate.

Shiki grimaces, thinking about how not-fine his partner will be when Izaya inevitably leaves. And what’s worse, Shiki isn’t sure he’ll be much better.

The couch is empty the next morning. So is their conversation over breakfast.

Akabayashi doesn’t say anything about Izaya leaving. He doesn’t say much that day. Or the next. By the 28th, he’s back to causing havoc at work and provoking Aozaki into fights. But Shiki sees the different. The smile that’s just for show, the way his good eye doesn’t so much as crinkle. It’s hard to genuinely have fun when you have to keep your eyes peeled.

Shiki keeps his peeled, but for a different reason. If he can get his hands on that street rat again, he will. And this time he won’t be dumb enough to give his captive a knife he can pick locks with.

But at the same time, Izaya kind of earned his freedom at that point. Not that he ever needed to earn it. He was always going to be set free, eventually. Once he was heeled. Damn it, Shiki hopes he isn’t fucking up his injury.

Their New Years Eve plans fall through the day of, which Shiki is just fine with. Akabayashi doesn’t even pout, which is the bizarre part. That’s the strongest piece of evidence that he’s feeling down. Shiki tries to cheer him up in the few ways he knows. They still wind up just eating take out on the couch, watching mindless talk shows as the hours get closer to midnight.

And then, at quarter past eleven, there’s a knock at the door. A knock that the ever excitable Akabayashi is quick to answer.

When Shiki doesn’t hear anything immediately, he glances over the back of the couch towards the doorway. And then stands to join his partner.

Izaya looks small, even with his new fluffy jacket to swamp him. He’s already being pulled inside and into Akabayashi’s arms by the time Shiki reaches the door to close and lock it behind the young man. He’s not even sure how long Izaya wants to stay. But he knows how long he’ll end up staying, if they have anything to say about it.

“Are you okay? How’s your stomach?” Akabayashi lifts the kid’s shirt before he finishes asking. The stretch of bandages has been replaced with just two large band-aids that Izaya’s stuck in place. He flushes furiously under the attention.

“It’s fine. I’m fine.” He tells them. Neither believes him. But he’s a good sport, and lets them check him over before inviting him further into the home. Akabayashi sits him between them on the couch, and Shiki brings him a plate to share their take-out. Izaya eats like it’s the first time he’s had food since he left. Which only makes Akabayashi hover more.

“We have some leftover yakisoba, right?” His partner whispers over Izaya’s head.

“Don’t go to the trouble. I’m full.” It’s a firm enough insistence that Shiki doesn’t immediately ignore him and go get the food. But he does narrow his eyes suspiciously. “Really, I am. This is just…really good. You guys always pick good food.”

Akabayashi smiles, like he’s complimented his whole family line or something. Shiki almost scowls.

“Don’t tell me you just stopped by for food.” He drawls. He doesn’t mean to be petty, but now that he has Izaya here again, he wants to know exactly what prompted him to sneak out in the night.

The young man looks like he’s been suddenly put under a spotlight. He’s still holding his chopsticks, and he fiddles with them for another thirty seconds or so before he sets them down and pulls two small boxes from his jacket pocket. One is red and the other is glaringly white. The latter is placed in his hand shyly after the red one has been delivered to Akabayashi.

Shiki exchanges a glance with his partner. The redhead is already unwrapping the small gift, and Shiki has no reason not to follow his lead. The keychain that he unpackages is about the size of a golf ball and made of what he can only assume is cheap plastic. Despite its lazy material, it’s production was good enough to tell that it’s a replica of a plate of otoro sushi.

“You guys fed me, and gave me a place to stay. And Akabayashi-san, you treated my wounds. You even gave me gifts on a holiday. But these are all I can afford to give you. I’m sorry.” He takes a shaky breath that Shiki fears will break him. Akabayashi rocks forward slightly with the urge to comfort the young man, but holds back for whatever reason. “I tried to leave and find some way to repay you. But it…I… this is all I could do.”

“Izaya.” Shiki calls for his attention, and after a few moments, watery eyes glance his way. “You don’t owe us anything.” He tells the young man firmly. Akabayashi agrees with a vigorous head nod on the other side of the raven.

“I at least owe you an explanation.” He insists, and neither of them argue this time. “I’ve been a drifter since I was sixteen. My parents died on a business trip, and my twin sisters got taken in by our grandparents. But I didn’t want to leave the city. And I didn’t… I didn’t want to be a part of their new little family. So I couch surfed and conned my way into surviving. Which caught up to me eventually.”

“Made a couple enemies?” Shiki guesses. Izaya nods gravely.

“One beastly enemy in particular. He never used to be able to land a hit on me in high school, but that day I was…tired.” And probably malnourished or sick, or a hundred other things that could happen to a young homeless man! Shiki has to grind his teeth to keep his mouth shut. “But after he saw that he really hurt me, he let me go. And then Akabayashi-san found me.”

Shiki remembers the day Akabayashi found him. He’d been so annoyed with the redhead. What was he feeling now? Was it admiration for his lover? No, it couldn’t be.

“I came back because I needed to thank you. And I need you to know that I will pay you both back in full. There has to be a way, and I promise I’ll find it.” He’s adorably insistent, holding first Akabayashi’s gaze and then Shiki’s, for effect.

The gaze Shiki shares with his partner is much more effective. It only takes them a single second to communicate over the young man’s head. Akabayashi chuckles a little, drawing Izaya’s eyes back to him.

“Well, I guess that means we’ll need to keep an eye on you until we’ve been paid.”

“Yes. It wouldn’t do if you disappeared while we’re still owed our dues.” Shiki adds, ever the rationalist. Izaya whips his head back and forth, trying to adequately keep an eye on both of them. Which was no doubt the reason Akabayashi chose to seat them like this.

“How better to keep watch of you than to keep you here, right Haruya?” His partner proposes. And unlike the last time they had the conversation, Shiki only smirks softly and nods.

There will still need to be discussions of rules and agreements. Izaya will need to learn fast not to snoop into their business, unless he truly wants to be a part of it. And they’ll have to figure out a better place for the young man to sleep. But he will be staying, and they all know it. Even Izaya, as he continues to helplessly look between them. He can’t decide who to try to argue with, or possibly if he even wants to argue. Shiki hopes it’s the latter.

By the time the people on their TV talk show are counting down to the New Year, Izaya has settled. He’s settled on the fact that he will be staying- that they want him to stay. And then he settled into his spot on the couch between them.

They greet the New Year together, sharing one large blanket draped over the couch. It’s the warmest winter Shiki remembers ever having.

And that, he supposes, is what having holiday spirit feels like.

Maybe Akabayashi was on to something all along. Not that he’ll ever admit it. But if this is the result of his partner’s childish joy, so be it. It’s the happiest he’s ever been to see a new year.

Happy Holidays!


End file.
